


Didn't Need Love To Be Complete

by Who_the_hell_is_Tre_Cool



Category: One Direction (Band), Shawn Mendes (Musician)
Genre: Aromantic Character, Asexual Character, Domestic, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, M/M, Queerplatonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:55:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27744826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Who_the_hell_is_Tre_Cool/pseuds/Who_the_hell_is_Tre_Cool
Summary: The curtains are already shut, Niall probably didn’t open them that morning, knowing how Shawn always is after a long flight. 'To be known is to be loved', Shawn thinks. It feels like the air’s been punched out of his lungs. It’s a good feeling.“I love you,” Shawn blurts out suddenly. It’s not the first time he’s said it. It definitely won’t be the last. But lying here in the semi-darkness with Niall pressed close, it feels monumental. An overwhelming feeling in his chest, emotions threatening to burst out and paint the room in yellow and orange and pink.He feels Niall smile against his shoulder.
Relationships: Niall Horan & Shawn Mendes
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Didn't Need Love To Be Complete

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to Ethan for being my beta!! Also big thank to Danny (even tho ur not gonna read this) for answering my questions abt queerplatonic relationships. I'm not ace or aro, so it was nice to have a bit of extra help.
> 
> I've been wanting to write some Shiall for ages now, I have a couple of longer ideas buzzing around, but this was just to ease myself into their dynamic.
> 
> I hope u enjoy it <3

The flight from LA to London is the perfect time for Shawn to catch up on the sleep he’d missed the night before (and for the past month). He’d stayed awake to talk to Niall, wanting to be there when he woke up. It was perfect, and Shawn wouldn’t change anything just to get a few more hours of sleep. That’s what planes are for. And besides, he’s just finished tour, he’d be exhausted either way.

He’d told Niall such when he’d been waiting to board, sending him a quick, ‘ _im sleeping on the plane. wonder why im so tired’_ , with a thinking emoji.

Niall had responded with, ‘ _funny that,_ _haha. sleep well <3’, _and Shawn tried not to smile too much at his phone.

As predicted, Shawn sleeps through most of the flight, and he’s still rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he stumbles off the plane. He smiles for the paps in the airport, even though all he wants to do is curl up in a ball and hide. Whatever.

He texts Niall when he’s in the car on his way, another hour through London traffic. Niall sends back a random string of heart emojis (and a sunshine, but that one might have been a mistake). He almost nods off again in the car, but he keeps texting Niall to keep himself awake.

He’s so tired, barely registering the drive there, until he’s pressing the buzzer on Niall’s gate, and Niall lets him in. He makes the trek up the driveway and finds Niall stood in the open doorway, grinning.

Niall opens his arms just a little, an invite that Shawn could easily refuse. He doesn’t, instead he collapses into his arms, dropping his suitcase by his feet and just breathing in all that is Niall. To his credit, Niall just holds him in silence, swaying ever so slightly.

Eventually, Shawn heaves a sigh and pulls away, offering Niall a weak but genuine smile.

“Long flight?” Niall asks, mouth quirking up slightly. Bastard. He already knows the answer.

Shawn rolls his eyes, “This is the only time I’ll ever say this, but take me to bed.”

Niall laughs, bright and warm, before ducking down and tossing Shawn over his shoulder. Shawn goes to complain, he’s much too big for Niall to do things like that, but Niall’s stronger than he looks. And their relationship is built on trusting each other to state their boundaries, so he should probably just take him at face value, trust him to put him down if he’s hurting.

Niall kicks Shawn’s bags further into the hallway, before using Shawn’s legs to knock the door closed which- rude. He then starts the trek up the stairs, slow and steady.

“You can put me down if you want,” Shawn says, when Niall slows even more about halfway up the stairs.

But Niall shakes his head, patting the back of Shawn’s thigh, just above his knee.

“No, I’m fine. Nearly there now.”

And true to his word, Shawn finds himself tossed onto Niall’s stupidly large bed no more than a moment later. He’s still kinda groggy from the flight though, so time is beginning to blur a bit.

He kicks off his shoes before groaning and rolling onto his front, burying his face in Niall’s pillow. It smells nice, like home. Niall laughs from somewhere else in the room, but Shawn hears him walking over.

“You gotta take your jeans off at least,” Niall says, touching his shoulder gently in warning before gently shoving him onto his back again, “You’ll complain at me tomorrow if I don’t make you do it.”

Shawn huffs, pulling the pillow to cover his face. He can practically see Niall’s fondly exasperated look, doesn’t need to actually view it.

“But I’m _tired_ ,” He whines. “I promise I won’t blame you if you come and lie down now.”

He tosses the pillow aside just in time to see Niall roll his eyes. “That’s a lie and you know it.”

Shawn can’t help but laugh at that, breaking his whiny act. He just feels so giddy occupying the same space as Niall, instead of settling for late night texts and grainy facetime calls.

A warm hand slips under his shirt, resting gently on his ribs. Shawn shudders at the contact, but finds himself sinking into it. One of those nights, then. Niall seems to understand instantly, and Shawn’s eternally grateful that Niall knows him like that. Knows when to push and when to ask and when to be gentle.

“C’mon love,” Niall says, voice all soft and warm. Safe. “Jeans off and under the covers. You’ll thank me in the morning.”

Niall’s hand moves to rest on his hips, fingers tapping a quick rhythm. A question.

Shawn presses his face into Niall’s shoulder. An answer, of sorts.

And then Niall pulls away, almost completely. But he doesn’t go far, ever so carefully unbuttoning Shawn’s jeans and tugging them down. Shawn shuffles a bit when necessary, not wanting to be a complete nuisance, but he mostly stays still.

They slip under the covers together, and Shawn closes the distance between them. Niall’s arms instantly wrap around his waist, tugging him closer, but his hold is loose. Shawn could shuffle back if he wanted to.

He doesn’t want to.

The curtains are already shut, Niall probably didn’t open them that morning, knowing how Shawn always is after a long flight. _To be known is to be loved_ , Shawn thinks. It feels like the air’s been punched out of his lungs. It’s a good feeling.

“I love you,” Shawn blurts out suddenly. It’s not the first time he’s said it. It definitely won’t be the last. But lying here in the semi-darkness with Niall pressed close, it feels monumental. An overwhelming feeling in his chest, emotions threatening to burst out and paint the room in yellow and orange and pink.

He feels Niall smile against his shoulder.

“I love you too. Miss you so much when you’re away. House is far too big when you’re not here.”

Shawn understands that. He always feels a little lost without Niall around.

He gets lost in his head sometimes, drifting away to the far reaches of his brain. Niall keeps him tethered, either with a physical touch or just by being there. Most people don’t understand how their relationship works, no romantic or sexual attraction.

Yeah, he can appreciate that Niall is hot. But it’s in the same way he can appreciate that flowers are pretty or that dogs are cute. It’s just a fact of life.

But the smell of Niall’s aftershave on the pillows, the sound of his laughter echoing around the kitchen when they cook pancakes on a Saturday morning, dancing to the radio, the tenderness in the way he touches Shawn, like each movement is asking for permission. It all feels like home.

The house is completely silent now, the sounds of their breathing the only disturbance. Niall’s breathing evens out, he’s fast asleep in minutes despite Shawn being the one who’s just flown halfway across the world. It’s alright. Shawn just presses closer, appreciating the contact.

There’s some days where one of them can’t bear physical contact. Some days where neither of them can. They sit together, on either end of the couch, sharing space. Exchanging words, occasionally. It’s comfortable.

Shawn doesn’t think he’s ever been this comfortable with someone before.

He can trust Niall to respect his boundaries, and Niall can trust him to do the same. They understand each other in a way that most people don’t. Shawn’s put himself in plenty of relationships before that weren’t right, forced himself to show his love in a way that wasn’t him. He knows Niall did the same, before they met.

There was an instant connection, when they did finally meet, a friendship that would lay the foundations for the best relationship Shawn’s ever had, and he couldn’t be happier.

With Niall, everything feels right. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope u liked it, leave a comment if you did.
> 
> You can find me here on [Tumblr](https://https://mastasof-ravenkroft.tumblr.com//) !!


End file.
